David Kwiatkowski, whom prosecutors describe as a "serial infector," was indicted last week on multiple charges of tampering with a consumer product and illegally obtaining drugs.

Kwiatkowski only said "yes" when asked in court Monday if he understood his rights. Trial was set for the first week of February.

Until May, Kwiatkowski worked as a cardiac technologist at Exeter Hospital, where 32 patients were diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C he carries.

Before that, he worked in 18 hospitals in seven states. Patients in Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania have since been tested for hepatitis C.

U.S. Attorney, District of New Hampshire, John Kacavas said he expected it to take some time before the trial gets underway.

"Probably this case will be put on a complex track so that the trial date will be extended out for some period of time. I don't imagine we'll have a trial date in this case much before the end of 2013," Kacavas said.

Attorney Mark Stevens said the delay is necessary.

"The defendant's got a right to a fair trial, and so does the government, and sometimes that doesn't happen quickly. Everybody wants to make sure they do the best job they can in a complicated case like this. It's going to take a lot of time" Stevens said.

He also said civil litigation in the case would not stop for the criminal trial.

"I don't think they would wait, and they don't have to, because, really, the bigger fish for the civil litigants would be the hospitals, the doctors and probably anybody else they can find," Stevens said.

Kwiatkowski could be looking at up to 98 years in prison if he is convicted.